1,721,013 research outputs found
Valutazione dello stato tensionale nel metodo Lattice Boltzmann: un’efficace rappresentazione di contorni curvilinei
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Three-dimensional numerical analysis and experimental characterization of a High Temperature-PEM fuel cell
No full textProton exchange membrane fuel cell for cooperating households: A convenient combined heat and power solution for residential applications
No full textIn this paper we compare the technical and economical performances of a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell with those of an internal combustion engine for a 10 kW combined heat and power residential application. In a view of social innovation, this solution will create new partnerships of cooperating families aiming to reduce the energy consumption and costs.
The energy system is simulated through a lumped model. We compare, in the Italian context, the total daily operating cost and energy savings of each system with respect to the separate purchase of electricity from the grid and production of the thermal energy through a standard boiler. The analysis is carried out with the energy systems operating with both the standard thermal tracking and an optimized management. The latter is retrieved through an optimization methodology based on the graph theory. We show that the internal combustion engine is much more affected by the choice of the operating strategy with respect to the fuel cell, in terms long term profitability. Then we conduct a net present value analysis with the aim of evidencing the convenience of using a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell for cogeneration in residential applications
Editorial
No full textThe papers appearing in this special issue of Applied Energy are extended and revised versions of a selection of contributions to the 6th edition of the “European Fuel Cell Technology & Applications Piero Lunghi Conference & Exhibition,” EFC15, held in Naples (Italy) from 16th to 18th Dec. 2015.
The first edition of this conference took place in 2005 in Rome and, since then, it has been regularly organized every two years, representing one of the main events in Europe about fuel cells, spanning from basic research to applied engineering. In particular, EFC15 attracted more than 300 visitors from all over the world, among researchers, engineers, policy makers, and educators, and has put forward the state of the art, the perspectives and the most recent achievements in research and development of hydrogen technologies, with 140 oral presentations and 100 posters. All the presented researches have been collected in a conference book of extended abstracts and some authors have been invited to submit an extended version of their contribution to this special issue.
We received several submissions from over 35 countries, mainly related to novel and sustainable energy conversion systems based on fuel cells and/or electrolysers. The articles accepted after the reviewing process cover various fields of hydrogen research, clearly highlighting the versatility and the variety of hydrogen technologies specifically in the fields of energy conservation and conversion. Papers dealing with fuel cells mainly address Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), which are nowadays the most targeted technologies for power and combined heat and power generation. Energy conversion is treated at different scales, from mobile systems for smartphones, to fuel cells based polygeneration and CHP systems, to hybrid fuel cell gas turbine systems. The innovations range from the optimization of energy processes in fuel cell power plants to improved energy system configurations and are mostly related to experimental works or advanced theoretical and numerical modeling. Novel hydrogen technologies are also included, as three papers are dedicated to microbial fuel cells, a promising approach for extracting electrical energy from waste and for enhanced and cheaper water depuration
Technical and economic assessment of a SOFC-based energy system for combined cooling, heating and power
No full textHere we present the technical and economical performances of a small scale trigeneration power plant based on solid oxide fuel cells and designed for a small residential cluster (i.e. 10 apartments). The energy system features a natural gas solid oxide fuel cell, a boiler, a refrigerator, and a thermal storage system. We compare different power plant configurations varying the size of the fuel cell and the refrigeration technology to satisfy the chilling demand (i.e. absorption or mechanical chiller). Given that the ability to meet the power demand is crucial in this kind of applications, the plant performances are assessed following an optimal control strategy, as a function of different energy demand profiles and electricity prices, and of rated and part load efficiencies of each energy converter. The optimization of the energy system operating strategy is performed through a graph theory-based methodology. Results are provided in terms of electrical and thermal efficiency, operating strategy, as well as economic saving, primary energy consumption reduction, and pay back period, considering different capital costs of the fuel cell
Trigenerative micro compressed air energy storage: Concept and thermodynamic assessment
No full textEnergy storage is a cutting edge front for renewable and sustainable energy research. In fact, a massive exploitation of intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and sun, requires the introduction of effective mechanical energy storage systems.In this paper we introduce the concept of a trigenerative energy storage based on a compressed air system. The plant in study is a simplified design of the adiabatic compressed air energy storage and accumulates mechanical and thermal (both hot and cold) energy at the same time. We envisage the possibility to realize a relatively small size trigenerative compressed air energy storage to be placed close to the energy demand, according to the distributed generation paradigm. Here, we describe the plant concept and we identify all the relevant parameters influencing its thermodynamic behavior. Their effects are dissected through an accurate thermodynamic model. The most relevant technological issues, such as the guidelines for a proper choice of the compressor, expander and heat exchangers are also addressed. Our results show that T-CAES may have an interesting potential as a distributed system that combines electricity storage with heat and cooling energy production. We also show that the performances are significantly influenced by some operating and design parameters, whose feasibility in real applications must be considered
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